A week ago, Port Authority Officials were forced to close the main exit at the WTC station due to falling ice from One World Trade Center. The closure proved a nightmare for commuters. Photo: Brain Hester

Falling ice from atop 1 World Trade Center forced authorities to close off a downtown section of the West Side Ice plummeting from atop 1 World Trade Center forced authorities to close off part of the West Side Highway Wednesday, in the latest case of ice plunging perilously from the city’s tallest building.

Traffic was stopped from Murray Street to Albany Street at about 8:15 a.m., and sidewalks and some side streets were also closed, because authorities feared that pedestrians and vehicles could be hit, the NYPD said.

The streets were reopened at around 3:40 p.m.

Bob Bowman, 42, from Milltown, NJ, was in the city for an interview at the Verizon building at Barclay and West streets.

“I did the whole commute from Jersey, and now I’m just circling the building,” he said.

“It was canceled last week because of the snowstorm, and now there’s ice. I’m getting screwed by Mother Nature twice.”

Streets around 1 WTC have been closed several times after sheets of ice broke off the face of the 1,776-foot structure, turning them into potentially deadly, 100-mph projectiles.

“The snow starts to melt and the liquid drips off and makes bigger and bigger icicles, or chunks of ice, that break off skyscrapers,” said Joey Picca, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in New York

“Be very, very aware of your surroundings,” he said. “If you see ice hanging from a building, find another route. Don’t walk under hanging ice.”

Some architects say newer, energy-efficient high-rises may actually be making the problem worse.